The Christmas Promise: The Best Christmas Ever
by Justsimplespeed
Summary: When an accidental promise is made to an unfortunate little girl, Neji and Tenten soon find themselves in the middle of pure chaos as they try to fullfill their promise. That promise? To bring the best Christmas ever to a family who needs it.
1. It Begins

"See you later honey!"

"Now don't worry, we'll be home by New Years! Promise!"

"See you guys..." Tenten waved meekly to her parents as the disappeared into the yellow taxi, packed with enough luggage for two weeks. Her mom rolled down her window and waved to the male beside her daughter.

"Now, you make sure nothing happens to her when we're gone, Neji." Tenten's mother warned.

"She'll be safe. You have my word." Neji promised looking at Tenten, who smiled half-heartedly. Tenten's parents waved one last time before being driven out of sight in their golden cab and, just like that, their anniversary began. Tenten's chocolate eyes started blankly at the street. All around Christmas had covered the neighbourhood in the forms of inflatable snowmen and Santas, crystalline fixtures and the smell of baking gingerbread, something she had always enjoyed year after year. However, this year was different.

"Okay...What's wrong?" Neji asked, taking Tenten's gaze off the asphalt.

"I don't see why my parents couldn't have stayed here for Christmas," she replied glumly. "This is the first year, ever, we haven't spent Christmas together since I was born. I dunno, I just don't like this, that's all."

"It _is _their anniversary." Neji reminded.

Tenten sighed. "But Christmas is a _family _holiday. How did you feel when your uncle left for that business thing overseas?" She questioned, meeting Neji's lavender eyes.

"Overjoyed, but I get what you're trying to say." Neji added hastily when Tenten glared at him. "Just try not to think about it and enjoy the holidays, okay?"

Reluctantly, and not wanting to ruin her boyfriend's holiday spirit (if that was what he called it), Tenten nodded but she still didn't like the idea. _Something better happen to make this Christmas memorable..._She thought, narrowing her eyes as the two made their way to the their next destination.

---

"Excuse me."

At the sound of a customer, Lee turned around from his current task of counting popcorn kernels to face the opposite side of the stand where a little boy, barely as tall as the counter itself, looked up at him with wondrous eyes.

"How may I help you?" Lee asked cheerily, leaning over the counter slightly for a better view.

"Do you know when Santa will get here?" The boy asked.

Lee thought for a second. "I am sure he will be here soon," he smiled reassuringly. "I'll bet that his reindeer probably just got tired during the long trip and they all stopped for a quick snack of nutritious honey oats."

The boy smiled, somewhat awkwardly, and left the stand as Lee looked around worriedly.

"Lee!" A voice exclaimed causing said person to jump in surprise.

"Yes Hinata?" Lee saluted as his light-eyed manager walked to the stand, looking all but amused.

"Have you seen my cousin or Tenten yet?"

"I have not." Lee shook his head and glanced around once more. "And I am afraid the customers are getting more and more impatient."

With a frustrated sigh, Hinata looked around the movie theater she had managed for the last three years. Lee's stand, and herself, stood dead center of the lobby, piled with the regular fattening, overpriced snacks one buys at the movies. A traditional Christmas tree had been placed near the entrance and was one of many decorations spread throughout the theater. Dozens of people of all ages piled in and out of the lobby as movies ended or they awaited the arrival of Santa. With seven theaters, it was a fairly large establishment to be located in a mall, but nonetheless it was the main attraction on the top floor of the local mall.

"All I know is that they better get here soon or I'll kick them out of the Christmas party tonight." Hinata threatened.

"Party?" Lee cocked his head to one side. "At your house?"

Hinata let out a short laugh. "Trust me, Lee. I'm not _that _crazy. It's on the theater roof tonight after all the movies are finished up and we close down."

"And am I invited to said get-together?" Lee asked slowly, hopefully.

"Of course." Hinata paused for a second. "I could have sworn I told Tenten to tell you--_there you are_! You two are late and the people are getting restless!" Hinata cut off and pointed accusingly at her cousin and Tenten, just walking into the theater (and clearly aware of their tardiness). "What kept you two?"

"It was Tenten's fault." Neji stated bluntly, pointing to said person who responded with a glare. She had never been gifted in the art of direction giving.

"Well...You're here now and that's all that matters." Hinata sighed and handed each of them a bundle of clothes form behind the counter. "Just put these on--" she looked at her cousin "--People are waiting for Santa to arrive."

"Wait a second..." Tenten started bitterly. "Why does he get to be Santa? He's too skinny."

"You're skinny than me." Neji stated flatly.

"And she's also shorter, which is why she's the elf." Hinata pointed out, then physically pointed outside of the theater. "Now go get ready and give the people what they want. No more wasting time."

---

"And what would you like for Christmas?" For what seemed, and probably was, the thousandth time that day, "Santa" asked the same question he had asked all the other children though, this time, a ting of irritably had managed to creep into his voice.

Tenten's, or the current mall "elf's", face twisted into a delighted grin. Despite his usual aloof personality, Neji was actually doing a better job than she ever expected, which was weird because he had announced on several occasions his dislike for small children. It seemed the holidays brought out the best in everyone, no matter how emotionally detached they were. Tenten glanced at the once long line near the centre of the mall, except for the boy currently receiving his gift from "Santa" only two people were left and no one else seemed to have any interest in seeing "Santa".

"Bye Santa!" The boy waved happily, as he left and received a short wave in response.

"You know what, I'm really impressed with you," Tenten admitted kneeling next to "Santa's" chair. "Never thought you'd actually be good with children."

"Really?" Neji asked, albeit a bit muffled due to the fluffy beard. "Because this is the last time I do my cousin a favour. _Ever_."

Tenten laughed. "You're really getting into the holiday spirit," she smiled as she pulled down the white beard and lightly kissed her festive boyfriend. "Keep up the good work." Replacing the fluff, she stood up and walked to the next person in line, a small girl accompanied by, whom Tenten presumed, was her plump mother.

"I want what the elf was getting!" The mother exclaimed the second the gate was open, running straight for the suddenly frightened Santa, who jumped out of the way just in time to avoid becoming a Christmas pancake. "Wait, Santa!" The mother yelled, running after the fleeing mall worker.

"See you later," Tenten waved as Neji ran past her, giving her a less-than-happy look.

Making his way out of the artificial winter wonderland, Neji began to weave through crowds of people, some of whom shot him with looks of annoyance or just plain confusion. After running past the twinkling Christmas tree, and still hearing his pursuer, he turned an abrupt left and ducked behind a corner, sighing with relief as the mother ran past his hiding place.

"'Cuse me..." A small voice, followed by a slight pull on Neji's costume, making him jump a little.

"Can I help you?" He half turned to look down at a little girl (little kids were just everywhere today, weren't they?), looking up at him with big black eyes.

"You're Santa!" The girl gasped in excitement. "Aren't you?"

"Well, yeah...Kind of." Neji answered quickly, checking around the corner and cursing bitterly. Turning back to the girl he asked, "What do you want? A pony? A doll?"

"I want my family to have the best Christmas ever." The girl announced clearly.

"Okay, you got it." Neji flashed a thumbs up and look around the corner once more. His pursuer was just a few feet away and eyeing the corner suspiciously. Why did _he _always have to get stuck in these situations?

"You promise?" The girl asked hopefully, clenching her hands together in anticipation.

"Yes, I promise! I--I have to go now!" Neji half waved and took off again just as the crazy mother rounded the corner. "Did I mention I'm kind of in a relationship right now?" He called to the woman, who didn't really seem to care much at all.

The little girl watched the scene before her with a delighted smile on her young face because, she knew full well, no one could break a Christmas promise.

---

That night, when the first stars had come out of hiding and twinkled high in the sky, the party began. The roof of the mall was alive with the movements of dozens of people as music blared out of the DJ booth off to one corner. If one was to ignore the utter chaos on the roof that night, they might notice the wonderful display of lights from the city this particular height offered that clear night. However, it went largely unnoticed by the masses, with the exception of two people.

"Well, it looks like you were right, Neji." Tenten stated from where she and the rundown Santa were standing near the edge of the roof.

"Right about what?" Neji asked absentmindly, his eyes focused on the city below (secretly glad he was no longer St. Nick).

"Coming here made me feel a whole lot better," Tenten said, slowly wrapping her arms around Neji's waist in a hug, receiving the same action in response.

"Aw, how cute!" A voice exclaimed suddenly, causing the two to break up and glare at the person who dared to ruin their moment.

"Lee!" Tenten shook her fist at the still-in-uniform employee, eyeing the two with a somewhat creepy kind of fancy (and his bug eyes not helping the matter at all). "What do you want?"

"Why I just wanted to experience this act of youth first-hand!" Lee cooed. "I think it is just adorable how much you two care for one other. It makes me wish I had a girlfriend so that I may smother her with as much love as you two!"

"Please don't use the word 'smother'..." Neji said, somewhat disgusted.

"Yeah, and get lost!" Tenten demanded. Instead, the bushy browed employee turned to Neji.

"What is your favourite type of cheese?" Lee asked, more seriously than one would expect.

"...What kind of question is _that_?" Neji looked at Lee in question, wondering if his friend had lost his mind, something he had always questioned but took a point not to show for a fear of being rude due to his upbringing (something he currently regretted).

"Aw! Come on! Tell me!" Lee begged, bouncing like a child. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell--"

"Okay, fine!" Neji intervened, making Lee halt abruptly. "Cheddar, I guess..." He lied; fact of the matter was he _hated _cheese (he had always been somewhat of a meticulous eater).

"Yay!" Lee cheered and disappeared back into the crowd and soon was lost from sight, leaving the most awkward silence behind him.

"Well...That just happened." Tenten commented, voicing her boyfriend's thoughts.

"We really need to expand our circle of friends..." Neji shook his head.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Tenten looked at him. "Lee is _your _friend, F.Y.I. I've hardly know the guy for two years, verses you who has know him practically all your life..." She paused thoughtfully then pulled a pitying expression. "Aw man. That explains so much. Poor you."

"Hn." Was the response she earned.

"Hey guys!" Hinata's voice made the couple turn just as she joined them, making another group of three, except with smarter people. "Enjoying the party so far?"

"Well...We were." Tenten said reasonably. "Until Lee came along and decided to say hi."

"Did he ask you a certain question pertaining to a fancied dairy product?" Hinata asked, giving them the sense he had done the same to her.

"Sure did." Neji confirmed.

"He really needs to see someone..." Hinata sweatdropped. "Hard to believe that guy's managed to keep his job here this long."

"Well people always love a freakish sideshow..." Tenten shrugged, then frowned. "Hey Hinata?"

"What is it?" Hinata cocked her head slightly as Tenten pointed to the tables near the DJ booth, holding the refreshments, where a small group of people had gathered around two people, at each other's throats.

"Did you invite Chouji and Ino to the same party?" Tenten asked in breathless tones.

"No." Hinata whispered loudly. "I know a heck of alot better than that!" She turned back to the fight, well the fight itself was mute to the three bystanders but they could see what was going on. One of the tables had already been flipped over and, though the small crowd covered most of it, they could see arms being thrown into the air.

"Go stop them." Tenten ordered, nudging Neji.

"Why don't you?" He retorted.

"Are you crazy? I'll get killed." She said simply.

"If that's the case, how about we get Lee to do it?" Hinata suggested.

"I have a better idea." Neji said, flipping open his phone and dialing three simple digits.

"This is the police, what's your emergency?"

"There's a fight breaking out on the roof of the local movie theater at 2749 Hoshi Street! Come quick!" Tenten shouted into the phone, then snapped it closed before there were any more questions.

"Well that was pleasant..." Neji said slowly, rubbing his ear.

"_And _it got the job done right." Tenten grinned proudly as she heard the distant sounds of sirens. "Now let's get out of here before the cops show up."

"I wonder how much trouble I'll get into for this…" Hinata wondered aloud as they made their way across the crowded rooftop, trying not to make too much of a scene.

"I wasn't--oof!" Tenten cut off when she rammed into someone's back, stumbling back a few feet.

"Hey! Watch where you're goin--" the guy turned to face them, "oh, it's just you guys..." He lost interest and yawned lazily while the remaining two people that made up their own special trio waved to Neji and Tenten.

"You sound just as enthusiastic as ever to see us Shikamaru," Hinata rolled her eyes and turned to the other couple, nodding to each of them in turn. "Sasuke, Sakura."

"What's up? You guys seem to be in a bit of a rush." Sasuke stated. "I'll just go out on a limb here and assume you're trying to get away from Ino and the fat guy, right?"

"Those two are ruining this party..." Sakura said looking over at the pair in question, noting how others had joined in on the fight, or the more cowardly ones (or maybe the smarter ones) just joined in on the taunting.

"Jeez...They're such a pain..." Shikamaru sighed. "We've been trying to ignore them this whole time--" from the fight a scream sounded "--but that is just plain impossible now."

Glancing back at the ruckus, where another scream, along with shouted obscenities, rang out the group saw the people abruptly spilt up and before they really knew what was going on, the crowd of their fellow party-goers started heading for any available exits they could find. Soon the fire escapes and one stairway leading back into the mall become a river of panicking people.

"Police!" An amplified voice yelled. "Everyone stay where you are!"

Which, obviously, no one did. As far as any of the partygoers were concerned when the police arrived anywhere, the only sane thing to do was get the heck out of that place and run for your life. And this included the group of six standing in the middle of the chaos, watching as the police gathered up whomever they could get their hands on and putting them in handcuffs. Yamanaka Ino was among that particular group.

"Uh..." Sakura started. "I think we should get a move on before we end up like her..."

"And I fully agree with that idea." Sasuke nodded and the group put their feet into motion, weaving through the crowd and avoiding the police as best they could. They had gone all of five feet when something, or someone for the few who considered him a person and not an alien, suddenly pulled Neji back by the arm.

"Lee, what the heck do you what?" Neji demanded bitterly as the two stepped in the rushing crowd. Lee stared at Neji for a couple seconds before asking:

"You said cheddar, right?"

"I don't have time for this..." Neji said flatly, breaking Lee's hold with no real effort. Knowing that he'd lost the others in the crowd, Neji continue on his way...And it only took another three feet before he was stopped again and, this time, his hands were forced behind him and clasped together with cold metal.

"W-wait a minute!" Neji turned, or tried to, to the officer behind him. "I think there's been some mistake." Utterly ignored, he was pushed into the group of others, probably mistaken, prisoners of the police round up guarded by a single law enforcer. While pondering his sudden streak of bad luck that day, Neji felt something tap his leg and looked down to see Ino sitting at his heels with a guilty grin.

"Hey." She greeted. "Quite a sticky situation we're in, huh?"

"That _you _cause." Neji reminded, annoyed.

"Uh, _Chouji _too." Ino corrected slowly then looked to her left; a slight fear crept into her voice as she laughed nervously. "Jeez. Could they have put us any closer to the edge of the building?"

"There's a guard rail..." Neji pointed out, letting the fact he really didn't want to talk right now glaze his tones as he turned away from the blond, leaning against the rail and struggling with his restraints. From somewhere among the prisoners, someone laughed.

"Aw. Afraid of falling are we Ino?" A guy next to said blond asked amused.

"You better watch it buddy." She warned. "Unless, of course, you want to become a part of the street, then be my guest!"

The person scoffed. "Yeah? I'd like to see you try!"

"Bring it!" Ino shouted getting to her feet. Now, the two couldn't really do much, what, with their hands tied but that sure didn't stop them from yelling and shoving each other, as best as they could.

"Hey!" The guard exclaimed, suddenly aware of the ruckus and making his way over to the awkward (and slightly funny) scene. Breaking them apart he pushed the guy and Ino apart, a little harder than he intended, as the guy fell to the ground and Ino slammed right into, yep, you guess it, Neji (who now really loathed a certain blond female). Unable to maintain balance or even attempt to grab something to stop his fall, Neji fell the two stories that made up the mall, but didn't get to the ground. However, it was damn well as hard.

"Yeah, that's not good for the spine..." Neji groaned, talking to no one in particular as he rolled to his side, only to realize he was in the bed of a truck, rumbling with the engine. He sweatdropped. This day couldn't get any worse, or do he thought before the car jerked abruptly and started to move forward rapidly. From above, on the rooftop, he saw an officer looking over the edge and inwardly cursed.

"This is _not _good." He muttered, raising himself to his knees to look in the back window as sirens blared behind him. The driver remained oblivious to his unwanted passenger, and the cops on his tail, mostly because he couldn't hear anything because of his dangerously loud Christmas music (which he was singing along to sourly). To make matters worse, it was Chouji.

_I hate my life..._Neji though glumly as the sirens continued to follow them for a couple minutes as Chouji made his way into the city streets, empty this time of night, and continued his reckless driving, the truck jerking with every pothole and bump hit, as did Neji. To this day, whatever had caused Chouji's sudden left turn, no one knew, but a miscalculation made the tubby male hit the curb straight on. Unfortunately, for the guy in the back the sudden jerk cause him to lose balance and fly a good five feet from the bed and land facedown in the street.

"Don't move!" An officer warned jumping from his car along with several other officers. "You're under arrest!"

"You think?" Neji retorted as the rest of the officers forced him to his feet and lead him to a squad car.

---

"Hey, Tenten?" Hinata looked around the empty parking lot confused and somewhat worried as the two stood near their vehicles.

"Yeah?" Tenten looked at Hinata quizzically.

"Where's my cousin?" Hinata and Tenten looked around before looking at each other.

---

**Yay! First chappie is up! Because it wouldn't fit in the summary box I'll take this space to say this story is lossely based on the movie "Merry Christmas Drake and Josh". I've seen it so many times I finally wrote a story based on it n.n If you haven't seen it. SEE IT! Please review if you can.**


	2. The Breakout

"I'm not saying it's your fault, Tenten." Neji reassured over the phone. "It's Lee's."

"But I still feel guilty for leaving you..." Tenten's voice cracked slightly on the other line due to static. "Plus, it's even worst because Hinata can't get a hold of your uncle, so we can't even get you a lawyer."

"Perfect..." Neji sighed and turned as he felt a light tap on his shoulder to see an officer point to the clock. "I got to go."

"Okay..." Tenten said in disappointment. "And don't worry, we'll figure something out."

"I hope so..." Neji said then hung up the phone, following the officer deeper into the building he had arrived at less than an hour ago, in what was shaping up to be the worst night of his life. The City's Correctional Center. The two walked in silence as they traveled down a hall lined with iron-barred cells on either side but, due to the dim lighting, the figures inside were unidentifiable (and judging from some of the sounds inside was probably a good thing). _Really_ loathing the fact he now had an extended stay in this place, Neji made mental note to hit Lee the next time he saw him.

"Get in." The officer ordered after they had stopped at a cell near the end of the hall and opened it slowly. Without a word, figuring it would be best to keep quiet given his not having a lawyer, Neji obliged and watched as the bars were put back in place and locked. Turning around, and in spite of himself, Neji jumped a little when he came face-to-face with his new cellmate...Kind of. Truth be told the blond was a good head shorter than he was and was currently looking up at him with fierce, blue eyes. Neji guessed he was probably a year or two younger than himself. Something about him seemed familiar...

"Um...Hi?" Neji greeted awkwardly and the blond frowned.

"Who are you?" The blond demanded, in tones a little less inviting than his new cellmate had hoped.

"...Hyuuga Neji," said person replied unsurely.

The blonde's eye twitched, almost unnoticeably, as he walked closer to Neji, who suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. He slowly raised a hand to the side of Neji's head and grinned as he touched his ear and drew his hand back.

"I'm..." The blond opened his fist to expose a bright, shiny quarter and grinned wider. "Naruto. Uzumaki, Naruto. Grade-A prankster and your new cellmate."

---

"I really had nothing better to do in here," Naruto explained, flipping the sliver coin in his hand. "I mean, there are limited hobbies here."

"So...You took up pranking?" Neji asked, cocking an eyebrow. "In a prison of all places? Somehow I think that's an indirect way to sign your death waver."

Naruto shook his head. "Naw, I've always been into pranking, it's actually the reason I'm in here, don't ask how, but it is. I just needed something to keep me sane while I'm in here, unlike some people I know. He continued. "And I plan to stay that way for the next two weeks."

"Christmas?"

"Exactly. I get out of here Christmas day and I don't plan on screwing up my chance for freedom from now 'til then."

"I've only been here two hours and I can't wait to get out..." Neji muttered, secretly surprised at how much he was actually enjoying the conversation. Who knew prisoners were so good at making small talk? In a single hour he already liked Naruto more than he liked most of his acquaintances, and that included the person to blame for his being here.

Naruto stared at his cellmate, a bit puzzled, before asking: "are you single?"

Funny. Neji suddenly liked him less.

"N-No, no! Not like that!" Naruto waved his hands as if trying to wave away the question. "I meant, d-do you have someone outside of here that you need, or want to, get back to?"

"I do..." Neji said, relieved.

"I see..." Naruto nodded slightly and grinned. "That's always something to keep you going, right? Gotta admit, I'm a little envious." He added quietly, standing up and stretching. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm bushed.

"It is late. We should probably get to bed." Neji suggested then watched as Naruto climbed into the top bunk before doing the same to the bottom bunk.

"Well, g'night then, new cellmate." Naruto said both fell asleep within a couple minutes.

---

"Tenten!"

Said brunette looked up from her lunch of soda and corn dogs, with fries, to see Hinata making her way to her with a little girl in tow. For a split second, Tenten thought it was Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi (who is a demon while we're on the subject), but that was ruled out when she saw the young girl actually had orange hair tied in two adorable pigtails.

"Hey Hinata." Tenten gestured to the girl. "Uh, who's your little friend?"

"_This_..." Hinata placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "This is Moegi. She wants to talk to you."

"Me? Really?" Tenten was slightly surprised, looking from Hinata to the little girl. "About what?"

"You know Santa, right?" Moegi asked hopefully, with all the cuteness a little girl could muster (which was actually a lot).

"Uh...Well, kinda. In a sense, I guess you could say...." Tenten was unsure of the question, and looked at Hinata who gladly clarified.

"Well, you see, it seems that my cousin promised to give this little girl, uh, _'the best Christmas ever_.'"

"'The best Christmas...ever?'" Tenten repeated, looking at Moegi, who nodded.

"You see, I live with five other kids. Foster kids. And my foster mom...Well, she..." Moegi looked down sadly. "She's in the hospital right now so my foster dad's been working two jobs to help her and give us a good Christmas...But things aren't going to well--" Moegi sniveled "--He's never home anymore and me and my brothers and sisters aren't getting along too well and I-I figured the only way things would go back to normal, back to where everyone got along, would be t-to have a great Christmas to remind everyone t-t-that we're still a f-family." Moegi hiccupped as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Oh..." Hinata sobbed lightly as she scooped the little girl up in a hug. "I-it's okay dear. You'll get to be a family again. A big, happy family"

"That's right. I promise that you will be." Tenten agreed, also hugging Moegi.

"You guys better give that poor little girl the best Christmas she, or anybody else, has ever seen! _I mean it_, Tenten!" Lee yelled from his station with a waterfall of tears on his own cheeks.

"We will. We will. I swear." Tenten assured with no doubt in her mind.

"Thank you..." Moegi sniffled, wiping her eyes.

"Moegi!" A sudden voice called, making the trio turn to the entrance where a teenager, or possibly preteen, male stood in the doorway. He had unusual plum-coloured hair and dark eyes, currently focused on the young girl.

"Oh, I gotta go." Moegi said slowly, withdrawing a small piece of paper from her pocket and handing it to Tenten, who took it.

"What's this?"

"My address." Moegi replied before waving and running to the entrance, disappearing with the teen.

"Everyone knows you cannot break a Christmas promise!" Lee shouted suddenly. "You just cannot! It is inhuman! And if you do...Your heart is made of stone!"

Tenten sighed, knowing this was true and she had to fulfill this promise to Moegi. There was a problem however, she couldn't do it alone and the very person who had made the promise to start with was currently behind bars. Guess she would just have to fix that then.

---

Naruto was sleeping peacefully, or at least as peacefully as one can on a third rate bed, with an occasional snore escaping from his mouth and he would have continued sleeping like this if he hadn't heard the sound of stone chipping in his ears. As silently as he could, he climbed out of the top bunk, taking care not to wake his partner, and stared blankly at the wall opposite the bars. Unless it was his sometimes overly active imagination, he could have sworn he'd seen one of the large cement blocks, or bricks, move slightly.

"What the heck..." Naruto muttered, rubbing his eyes as the same block moved gradually. Now he was sure he wasn't imagining it. This time the block had moved almost completely out of the wall and Naruto drew a breath, wondering if the guards would hear it smash on the cement ground. Seemed likely, But they didn't. Naruto let out a sigh and walked to the makeshift window.

"Excuse me!" A hushed voice called from the other side.

"Uh...Hello..." Naruto greeted as he peered down at the brown-haired female staring back at him. "Can I assist you?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for my boyfriend, Neji; know where I can find him?" The girl asked as she put her pick and hammer on the ground outside.

"Um, yeah. Actually, I do." Naruto eyed the girl before stepping back. "Hold on a sec', 'kay?"

Naruto moved slowly along the rubble, back to the bed and knelt down to the bottom, nudging his cellmate, who had about as much as a reaction as a dead rock.

"Hey, wake up, man." No response. Naruto sighed and raised his hand in the air, then brought it down hard on his cellmate's chest. This woke him up.

"Naruto! What the hell was that for?" Neji demanded, breathlessly.

"You have a visitour," Naruto replied, making a point to be hushed, pointing to the hole to which Neji's eyes traveled, and widened slightly. Looking from the hole, to Naruto and back, he thought better than to question anything and walked to the opening.

"Man, what are my parents going to think when they find out that I'm dating a convict?" Tenten asked, shaking her head disappointedly.

"I have no idea, Tenten." Neji grated. "And now I have a question for you."

"What?" Tenten cocked her head.

"_Are you completely out of your mind_?" Neji hissed. "What are you trying to do? Get us both in even _more_ trouble?"

"No..." Tenten said innocently. "I'm getting you out of here, silly."

"You know, I'm curious. What would possess you to try and break into a federal prison?"

"I met Moegi today."

"And who's that?"

"The little girl who you promised to give 'the best Christmas ever' to." Tenten glared at her captive friend, who had obviously forgotten this little fact (not that it surprised her).

"So what?" Neji asked, wanting a point to be made fast.

"You promised her the greatest Christmas, and you're keeping that promise, mister. You can't break a Christmas promise." Tenten said furtively.

"She's right ya know." Naruto agreed, appearing next to Neji.

"Get out of here!" Neji said sternly, pushing the blond away but not before an idea had made its way into Tenten's head.

"Wait; bring him back for a second. I want to talk to him. _Alone_." She added, when Neji gave her a confused look.

"Fine." Neji left the square hole and motioned for Naruto to take his place, as he returned to the bed to sit.

"Hey. What's up?" Naruto greeted.

"Okay, listen. I need your help." Tenten said in hushed tone, just so only the two of them heard. "You see my boyfriend over there made this promise to a little foster girl who lives with, like, ten thousand other foster kids and her foster mom is sick so she's in the hospital and her foster dad's been taking longer shift so he's never home and all she wants is for her family to have a good Christmas and I came all the way down here to make sure Neji fulfills his promise and he's being his typical self and not cooperating. Make him cooperate!" Tenten finished, out of breath and panting.

"Okay! I got it!" Naruto nodded and, unseen to Tenten, picked up one of the larger remains of the cement block and walked slowly to his cellmate and, before he could say a word, well...Let's just say cement plus head equals a total knockout.

"...Not quite the method I would have picked but I guess it works nonetheless, though..." Tenten laughed nervously as she eyed her boyfriend's unconscious body. "He's going to have one _hell_ of a headache when he wakes up...If he wakes up, that is...Help me put him through here."

Naruto obliged, struggling to pick up Neji's limp body. "He's a lot heavier than he looks." The blond informed, settling for half dragging his cellmate to the hole.

"Just hurry," Tenten said hastily, then, noticing that the blond had a sudden grin on his face, added (or tried to), "what are-"

Before her sentence was complete, Tenten was showered with bits and chunks of the wall that once separated her and the cell but was now a big pile of rubble, thanks to the blond, who had somehow gotten it into his head it was okay to use her boyfriend as a battering ram.

"Again...Not the method I would have picked..." Tenten sweatdropped as Naruto half-placed half threw her boyfriend, who was not going to be a very happy person when he woke up, on the other side of the 'wall'. "But thanks anyway."

"No problem." Naruto gave her a thumbs up. "Keep that promise."

"You bet we will." Tenten winked. "Nothing's going to stop us-"

"Hold it right there!" Suddenly blinded by a bright light, Tenten cut off as it engulfed her and the less-than-subtle hole in the side of the building. "You're under arrest!"

"Ah, crap..." Tenten muttered.

---

**Whoot! And up goes chapter two, whether I got reveiws or not :P If you do read, review please. You hold the power.**


	3. Things Get Badder

"My parents picked a _really _good time to leave for vacation," Tenten remarked bitterly, rattling the handcuffs around her hands and ankles as she looked around the courtroom, full of the commotion that comes with the beginning of a trail.

"All of _this _could have been avoided, you know." Neji pointed out, glaring at his girlfriend in the seat next to him. Not exactly in the mood to be tried at the moment, his usual aloof personality had downhill due to an all-but-mysterious headache, and the fact that it felt like he'd been recently pummeled by a train didn't help matters.

"Silence. Please rise." A voice demanded and, all at once, the courtroom fell silent and stood up. "The honorable Judge Tsunade resigning." And, as in on cue or something, the judge stepped forward and sat in her appointed seat in the front of the room, above all others. Her amber eyes scanned the room and she motioned for everyone to sit.

"Where is your representative?" The judge questioned, looking at the shackled couple, who looked at each other and shrugged.

"Uh..." Tenten laughed nervously. "We, um, you see, we don't ha--"

"Hold it!" An all-too-familiar voice shouted, cutting Tenten off, and the entire court turned to see Hinata, of all people, running down the aisle to the judge's desk. "I'm here, I'm here! Sorry I'm late!"

"Did you hire my cousin?" Neji asked Tenten in hushed tones.

"No! Why do you think _I_ did this?" Tenten said in equal tones, narrowing her eyes. "I had no idea she would come."

"Who are you?" Tsunade asked with little patience.

"Is _that _some of your business?" Hinata asked sternly, rising an eyebrow, making Neji and Tenten groan. Never thought they would actually _miss _the days back when Hinata was a shy wallflower.

"Yes. Actually _it is_." Tsunade answered, eyeing the new arrival, who placed a slim black briefcase on her desk and motioned for her to open it. She eyed Hinata suspiciously but opened the case nonetheless, pulling out a small photograph. "Who is this?"

"That is Sarutobi Moegi." Hinata answered simply. "A little girl living with several other foster kids and whose foster mother is currently in the hospital."

"And does that have something to do with these two?" Tsunade gestured to the couple, who looked just as confused as everyone else did in the room.

"It does, as a matter of fact." Hinata walked back to where her cousin and friend were sitting. "You see, my cousin here, along with his girlfriend, made a promise to this little girl not too long ago. That promise-?" Hinata looked at the two to continue.

"To give her and her family the best Christmas ever," Neji filled in, realization finally setting in.

"Exactly. Now everyone knows you can't break a Christmas promise," Hinata continued as the court mumbled in agreement. "And if these two are sent to jail, then that is exactly what will happen." Hinata slowly walked back to the front of the court. "And you, Judge Tsunade, will be to blame for it, by imprisoning these young adults."

The courtroom broke into murmur again and, this time, glares and fingers were pointed in Tsunade's direction, making her reglance at the picture, to the young adults, then Hinata.

"All this little girl wants is an ideal Christmas. Why destroy her only Christmas wish?" Hinata asked, slyly.

There was a suspenseful silence.

"Neji and Tenten," Tsunade looked at the couple, now focused on the judge. "...Seeing as how you two have no prior convictions, I'll let you guys go _this time_-." the room exploded into cheering and relieved sighs from the now freed convicts before she could continue. "However!" Tsunade yelled to be heard over the commotion, while banging her gabble. "You _must _give this girl and her family exactly what you promised her! Dismissed!"

"Congratulations!" Hinata exclaimed, hugging each of the ex-cons in turn as two officers released them from the handcuffs.

"Yes, congrats!" Lee shouted from the seats behind them and stood up along with several other of their friends-slash-acquaintances (obviously they liked some people more than others), who proceeded to make their way over to the couple.

"Ah man, that was a close one..." Tenten sighed with a petite grin.

"Yeah, it was!"

"You guys are lucky; you do realize you never would have survived in jail, right?"

"That was nerve wrecking..."

Everyone started to talk at once, which never makes for good conversation, as the courtroom began to empty slowly and, soon, only one other person, besides the immediate group, was left in the room. This person called out to the couple, beckoning them to follow him.

"What's going on?" Tenten asked Neji, a bit confused.

"No idea." Neji replied calmly, tapping Tenten's arm in a gesture to follow him as he followed the unnamed stranger. "Come on."

---

"Sit." The man commanded pointing to the red chairs in front of what the couple presumed was his desk as they entered a completely new portion of the building.

"What's going on?" Tenten repeated.

"I am Might Gai, your parole officer." Seeing the confused glanced Neji and Tenten exchanged, Gai continued with a grin. "Do not think that you two are off the hook just yet."

"What do you mean by that?" Neji asked.

"What kind of name is Might Gai?" Tenten asked absent-mindedly.

"Tenten, don't start." Neji warned but with no real effort behind it. After all, let's face it, when did she ever listen to him?

"I'm just saying it's an unusual name, okay?" Tenten retorted. "I mean, of all things, why name your kid his gender? It's a little odd, unless, of course the parents were worried people wouldn't be able to tell the difference..."

"Why do you insist on making fun of every name you hear?"

"Okay, first off, I do not make fun of _every _name I hear. Second, I think this one is a special case and third, if you had a kid would you want to name it "Gai" or "Girl?""

"It's a normal name, let's just leave it that."

It wasn't left at that, go figure. The two continued their bickering, forgetting exactly where they were at the moment and that Gai was still in the room, which made said parole officer, well, not a very happy person.

"Quiet!" Gai bellowed but not before Tenten had reached over and punched, albeit playfully, Neji on the shoulder. "Now Judge Tsunade said-stop it!" Gai snapped, glaring at the couple after Neji had hit Tenten back in the leg and her response had been doing the same then looking at the officer innocently. "She said to give the best Christmas ever..." Gai looked at one to the other, seeing the temptation to continue hitting each other in their eyes. "Now I do not know what that means, but on Christmas day I will speak to Moegi and her family and ask them to vote on whether this was the best Christmas or not and, if that answer should be no..." Gai's mouth twisted to a grin. "I will ship you two back to jail and melt the key myself."

"Point taken." Tenten said sarcastically.

Gai stared at her for a moment before pressing a button on his phone.

"Bring them in." He said then released the button and returned his attention to the two in front of him. "Until then-" The door behind the couple suddenly opened and two more officers dressed in black walked in, each holding a big, black case of some sort, which they placed on the desk "-you will be wearing these." Gai finished as the officers opened the cases and, before Neji or Tenten could protest, two unknown contraptions were locked around their ankles.

"What is this?" Tenten questioned, touching the object and frowning.

"Those ankle braces will allow me, or any other police official, to track you. No matter where you are." Gai added warningly.

"Wonderful..." Neji muttered and glared at Tenten.

"Hey, this isn't my fault!" Tenten defended.

"It is partly your fault. And that's an understatement."

"Oh really? And which part exactly would that be?"

Gai sighed as the bickering arose once more but waiting a few moments before shouting for them to stop. "Any questions?" He asked, really wanting the couple out of his sight.

"Uh, yeah," Tenten started, thoughtfully, looking at the brace. "When I go to take a bath-"

"Out!" Gai had had enough and the couple scattered.

---

"Well, it looks like we're not going anywhere outside the city anytime soon." Tenten said dully as she closed the driver side of her boyfriend's white car, the owner of which entered through the passenger side. "Are you sure you don't want to drive?"

"Trust me, I'm sure." Neji assured. "I'm not exactly in the mood."

"Okay then..." Tenten started the car and they were off. "Can you hand me my purse?" Neji did and Tenten thanked him as she dug through it and pulled out a rectangular device.

"What is this?" Neji asked as she handed it to him.

"GPS. So we can find Moegi's house easier. I already put in her address." Tenten replied, not taking her eyes off the road. "I think it was quite a steal, only got it for six bucks off the internet."

"_Turn left in three feet_." The unit commanded in an electronic voice.

"What?" Tenten exclaimed and tired squealed as she jeered left abruptly, making the cars occupants slide with the turn, though it only took a moment for the journey to continue normally. "You know what?" Tenten continued thoughtfully. ""I think we should at least have a plan of what we want to do for these kids when we get there."

"What's there to plan?" Neji asked, with a slight frown. "We put a tree, decorate a little and celebrate."

"_Turn right in three-in-a-half_," The unit said and, once more, Tenten immediately followed its instructions, ignoring the other driver's protests.

"This thing doesn't give you a whole lot of warning, does it?" Neji asked, gesturing to the unit.

"Will you listen? I think we should give Moegi's family a traditional Christmas."

"Traditional?"

"Yeah. A Christmas where we go out and chop down out own tree and decorated with our own handmade decorations and stuff like that. You know, baking cookies, making gingerbread houses. Things like that would be best, don't you think?"

"I don't care. You do whatever you want."

"_Turn left in four feet and right in two_."

Tenten drifted, just barely missing a fire hydrant, and a very unexpecting pedestrian, who was suddenly very happy with life. How this girl had ever gotten a license was still a mystery to many, many, people.

"Uh-oh..." Tenten looked out the rear view mirror and cursed. "Well, that's just what we need." She said bitterly, glancing at the red and blue lights flashing behind the vehicle.

"Pull over," Neji said simply and Tenten obliged, rolling down the window.

"It's _you_..." Tenten said in shock as the officer approached the vehicle. It was none other than Gai himself.

"Making trouble again, are we?" Gai shook his head as he clicked his tongue, not expecting an answer as he furiously jolted something down on his little yellow pad.

"No, we were just-" Tenten cut of as Gai whipped the paper in her face, which she took reluctantly.

"Drive safer." Gai warned before walking back to his own car and driving off.

"He gave me a ticket..." Tenten said lamely still holding the paper.

"I can see that." Neji said sarcastically. "And in _my _car too."

"_You have arrived at your destination_." The unit lied.

"No we haven't!" Neji glared at the technological wonder before tossing out his own window, ignoring the angry look Tenten gave him before saying:

"You owe me six bucks."

---

**Another Chapter finished despite the fact Christmas is no more! Until next year anyway. Please R&R**


	4. The Kids

The house they arrived at, twenty minutes later, was two stories, tan, and not the type of house one would expect a foster family with umpteen kids to live in. It was definitely big enough to hold its occupants and still had enough class to put the other houses on the block to shame.

"Their house almost compares to yours." Tenten said with a grin as she knocked on the glass door.

"Hardly." Neji scoffed.

When the door opened, a female older than Moegi, but not by too much, stood in the doorway. She had short, light brown hair and black eyes currently looking at the couple as if they were your common tree with a face of stone, which was, frankly, very awkward for the couple.

"Uh...Hello." Tenten waved to the unnamed girl in an attempt to make her do _something_; however, her expression didn't change even slightly.

"Tenten!" A familiar voice shouted from nowhere and a split second later Tenten was grabbed around the waist by Moegi. "You made it!"

"I told you I would come, didn't I?" Tenten asked, stepping into the house as the silence, and creepy, female closed the door behind the couple.

"You sure did." Moegi turned around, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Konohamaru! Udon! They're here!"

A few second later there was the sound of scurrying feet as two boys rounded a corner, abruptly froze and stared at the couple, drawing the second awkward silence since their arrival.

"This is Konohamaru and that's Udon." Moegi introduced.

"Why are they staring at us?" Tenten asked quietly.

"They're not staring at _you_," Neji corrected. "They're staring at _me_."

"Holy crap! It's a guy!" Konohamaru exclaimed, pointing to Neji, whose eye visibly twitched.

"Uh...Sorry, you'll have to excuse them, they're kinda rude...." Moegi apologized, and then gestured to the brown-haired girl in the corner, who still hadn't uttered a peep. "That's Matura, she's sort of a mute, she doesn't talk much to anybody..."

"What is all the yelling about? Can't a guy take a shower without all this drama?" Another male complained as he descended the stairs, dressed in a lonely white towel, and his eyes rested on Neji and Tenten.

"This is Inari." Moegi stated. "Inari, this is Tenten and Neji."

_That sounds weird the other way around..._The couple thought dully, at the same time.

"So, who's in charge here?" Tenten asked, voicing a concern that bothered her since entering the house as she looked around.

"Well, my foster dad, but he's out right now." Moegi explained. "So that--"

"_I'm _in charge." A voice suddenly interrupted, as yet another male appeared behind Konohamaru and Udon, this one being older than them all, a teenager. And a basic one at that, Dressed in clothes obviously designed to scare off nearly anyone.

"I thought you said your dad was--" Neji began.

"When Asuma's gone, I'm in charge." The teen said sternly, glared at the adults, and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

"Ranmaru..." Moegi said after a silence. "He's kind of a loner..."

"And a brat." Udon added silently.

"You're the brat, Udon." Konohamaru retorted with a laugh.

"Nuh-uh! You are!"

"No you!"

The two boys broke into a shouting match and began walloping each other, hitting anything they could reach. Eventually, they fell to the floor and rolled out of sight, though their screams went all-but-unheard. Matsuri left silently after that and Inari returned upstairs, leaving Moegi with the dumbstruck couple.

"Yeah...They do that."

---

"So, how long have you and your wife been foster parents?" Neji asked Asuma, as said foster dad and he finished packing Asuma's vehicle after he had returned from work only a few seconds ago.

"About ten years now," Asuma answered after quick thought. "Me and Kurenai try to take in the kids that are a little, uh, _harder _to place."

"I see..." Neji said slowly, not trying to show that he had noticed this little fact.

"You know, despite the reason you and your friend are here, I think it's great what you're doing for the kids." Asuma said in a thankful matter then grinned. "I knew from the moment I met you, though, that you don't exactly have a weak spot for children."

"Hn. Just remember you can't tell them about the vote or anything, seeing as how that could effect their decision." Neji reminded, changing the topic.

"I will," Asuma promised as he got into the car. "I want to visit Kurenai before the hospital closes. If either of you need to borrow the van at anytime the keys are hanging above the washer."

"Okay, thanks." Neji watched as Asuma closed the door and drove off. Figuring he should check on Tenten and the kids, he sighed and headed back to the house.

---

"What actually _is _Christmas all about?" Tenten asked hypothetically, placing a wooden spoon to her chin. "If you were to ask a hundred people, you're probably going to get a hundred different answers."

Moegi raised her hand from where she and her siblings sat at the round kitchen table, with the exception on Ranmaru, where multiple cooking ingredients had been placed in preparation for the first of their activities. Tenten pointed to the girl with her spoon.

"What's Christmas mean to you?" Moegi asked, quizzically.

Tenten thought for a minute. "Well, to me, Christmas is about putting yourself aside and doing nice things for other people. You know, _giving _rather than _taking_, and that is the reason why I have decided to give you guys the gift of homemade Christmas cookies and gingerbread."

"Awesome!" Konohamaru cheered.

"Look whose just in time," Tenten said as Neji walked in. "We're just about to make cookies."

"In that case..." Neji turned around and left again.

"...Get back in here, mister." Tenten demanded flatly and Neji walked back in slowly and the kids laughed.

"Did I mention I'm not much of a 'cookie-baking-person?'" Neji asked to make a point.

"Oh please, you're hardly a person," Tenten retorted, turning to him, and the kids snickered. "Can I talk to you?"

"You mean I have a _choice_?"

"No." Tenten looked back at the kids. "You guys start baking, we'll be right back."

"Alright!" The kids hollered as the adults left the room and entered the living room.

"I know it's hard for you, but can you please try to show a _little _interest in this?" Tenten crossed her arms as she glared at her oblivious boyfriend.

"In _what_? _Baking_?"

"Try: '_trying not to go to jail_.'" Tenten corrected. "Our job is to give this kids a great Christmas and your attitude's not helping."

"Really?" Neji cocked an eyebrow. "They seem to actually be enjoying it."

"And I'm sure they're going to 'enjoy' it more when I _hurt _you." Tenten warned. "I'm trying to start a tradition here, something these kids will look forward to every year and like doing in order to keep me and you out of bars."

"How do you even know they're enjoying this?" Neji pointed out and Tenten frowned.

"Well, I didn't hear they complaining, did--?" Tenten was cut short as a crash, which sounded much like broken glass, sounded from kitchen and, you can be,t a barrage of shouts and insults soon followed.

"Let go, Udon!"

"No, you let go!"

"Guys, stop it!"

"Duck!"

Tenten looked at Neji, who had an '_I-told-you-so' _look on his face, before running into the kitchen. She barely missed getting hit by an egg which exploded on the wall behind her. She might have left for all of five seconds but, already, a coated mess of flour, eggs and sugar covered the kitchen's walls, floor and ceiling. Konohamaru and Udon were rolling around in said mess while Inari threw eggs at them. Moegi, being the only good and relatively clean one, was yelling for them to stop and Matsuri had retreated to one of the four corners of the kitchen that had somehow escaped an egging.

"You know, I'm not an expert on this sort of thing but, if you want my opinion," Neji looked at the situation before them. "I don't think they're enjoying this."

"Shut up."

---

"Okay, so that didn't go exactly as I planned," Tenten admitted with a groan as she and Neji walked around to the front of the house, neither of them quite ready to face an armada of children armed with varies cooking supplies.

"Well, maybe we can all have fun while cleaning up the kitchen, later." Neji said in a failed attempt to cheer Tenten up.

"This is going to be harder than I thought..." Tenten sighed and plopped down on the front lawn, drawing her knees to her chest. "What are we going to do?"

"All we have to do is find something that those five little..." Neji drifted off.

"What is it?" Tenten asked, looking up from her feet and following her boyfriend's gaze. "Oh, great..."

"Hey!" Neji left Tenten's side and walked over to where his car was parked, surrounded by a bunch of people he didn't know, and currently being towed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Towing this car," a guy answered, and it didn't take long for his voice to be recognized by the car's owner.

"Why?" Tenten asked, walking over, and allowing the faintest hint of annoyance enter her voice once she also realized who it was.

"Because it is white." Gai answered, turning around and writing on his trademark paper pad. "But do not worry, you can get it back." Gai handed the paper to Neji. "For nine hundred dollars when you go pick it up from the impoundment lot." Gai bowed with a grin. "Have a nice day."

"I can't believe this..." Neji glared at the paper in his hand.

"What are we going to now?" Tenten asked. "It's like he's just following us around, trying to find things he can bust us for, no matter how stupid. How are we going to fulfill this promise when we have ten-thousand dollars worth of tickets? We need _help_."

"We _need _my cousin." Neji corrected and Tenten looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"How is Hinata going to help us?" She asked.

"Not Hinata..." Neji shook his head slowly.

---

"Why would I help you two?" Hanabi asked, bitterly, not taking her eyes off the television set, one of many, in the Hyuuga Manour.

. "Because, you'd be bringing Christmas joy to a family who really needs it." Tenten said, sweetly. "It would give you a chance to do something nice for once."

"And what exactly is in it for me?"

"Well, for one, the family you'd be helping would be very grateful." Neji answered when Tenten looked at him for help.

"Like I said..." Hanabi looked at her cousin menacingly, obviously not too happy about the fact she was being pestered when this was supposed to be _her _winter vacation away from all forms of authority. "_What's in it for me_?"

"To be more specific, _Konohamaru _would be very grateful." Neji said slyly, grinning as something sparked behind Hanabi's eyes.

"Konohamaru?" Hanabi repeated slowly.

"That's right. See, after his grandfather died he was, sadly, put into a foster home, and it just so happens that it's the same house where me and Tenten are assigned to fulfill our promise." Neji explained and was followed by a short silence.

"Okay, I'll help." Hanabi said, jumping up from the couch, and kneeling on the floor. "Come here for a sec'."

"What are you doing?" Tenten asked, a little worried, as the younger female pulled out a pair of pliers from, what seemed like, thin air.

"Taking the chips out of you braces." Hanabi answered as she did so to Tenten first, then her cousin. "That's how that cop always know where you two are all the time, without them he'll have no idea where you two are so you can do whatever, whenever."

You know, for a demon, I have to admit you're actually pretty handy." Tenten said in a manner of thanks as Hanabi finished.

The younger female scoffed. "Just don't get used to it. It's not like I was doing it for you guys anyway." She added under her breath.

Later that same day, after her cousin and his girlfriend left her alone at last (though it was mostly due to the fact they now needed a new method of transportation and wanted to find such before tomorrow) Hanabi decided to have a bit of fun with their stalkish parole officer. In short, it involved the chips from the braces and a remote controlled helicopter she had gotten last Christmas but had had no use for, until now. So the rest of her day was spent leading the officer, who had indeed been looking for his clients, on a wild goose chase through the park, which amused her greatly.

Meanwhile, after borrowing a less-than-appealing manner of getting around from Shikamaru, Neji and Tenten returned to Moegi's house the next day. Having rethought their plan (or rather after _Tenten _rethought the plan) they returned the next day and gathered the kids in the living room, except for Ranmaru once again, for the next attempt at 'the best Christmas ever'.

"Today we're going to be focusing on the main emblem of Christmas," Tenten began with a joyous sense about her, as she reached for the book on her lap. "The Christmas _tree_."

The kids grinned weakly.

"A tree which we are going to decorate with our very own _handmade _decorations," Tenten opened the book for some colourful examples. "And do you guys want to know what the best part of today is?" Seeing the suddenly interested look on the kids' faces she revealed slowly, "Whatever tree you guys want, big or small, fir or not," she then decided to hurry as the kid's began to look confused. "We get to cut it down ourselves!"

"Wow!" Konohamaru cheered.

"Awesome!" Udon exclaimed.

"Man, you wanna talk about _cuts_? Then how about those paper cuts?" Inari asked hypothetically. "I mean, c'mon, how can paper, of all things, be _sharp_?"

_Oh jeez..._Tenten sweatdropped.

---

"There you are."

Ranmaru looked annoyingly at Neji as the Hyuuga walked up to him. For the last two days he had made a point to avoid the little events that had been going on his house, whether it was retreating to his room or wandering to another part of the house, because he knew there was no way that these two strange adults could keep their promise. Something about the whole thing just seemed suspicious to him.

"What do you want?" Ranmaru asked shortly.

"We're all going out to get a tree," Neji stated, ignoring the teen's tone.

Ranmaru scoffed. "Count me out..." The teen shook his head. "And get lost."

The two guys stared at each other in silence for a moment before Neji left without a sound.

---

"I mean, all the time, you see people getting busted in airports for having pocketknives and such but never paper!" Inari continued, _still_, even as the six of them had left the house, drove into the forest and began their search for their tree.

"Okay, we get the point Inari..." Konohamaru said, annoyed and impatiently.

"He's quite the talker isn't he?" Tenten whispered to Neji as the two walked side-by-side in back of the kids.

"He kind of reminds me of a highly-less-freakish Lee." Neji said in a manner of agreement.

"Agreed. _And _he hasn't even asked you about your favorite dairy product. It's an added bonus." Tenten gave a short laugh as she kissed her boyfriend squarely on the lips (you can call it practice).

"Eww!" The kids, well, 'ew'ed in unison (except Matsuri, being the silent type she is) pulling disgusted faces.

"See? I told you guys they were going out." Moegi gloated.

"You guys just focus on finding a tree." Neji said, sweeping the forest with the axe in his hand.

"And we can look forward to finding a fat man in our chimney soon, too!" Inari ranted. "I mean, a man _that _big ought not be sliding down chimneys!"

"Hey! Let's get that one!" Udon shouted suddenly, pointing into the forest, hopefully at one of the trees.

"I wanna cut it!" Konohamaru called it, swiping the axe from Neji and running into the forest, quickly followed by Udon. Funny how fast things can fall apart when you're with five foster children in a forest, with an axe.

"Hey, wait a minute. Where's Matsuri?" Moegi asked, looking around desperately.

"Oh perfect," Tenten looked around then looked at Neji. "You find Matsuri while I try to stop Konohamru and Udon." Without waiting the protest she knew was coming, Tenten ran after the boys.

"Matsuri! Where are you?" Inari called.

"Look!" Moegi shouted pointing to the top of one of the larger trees in front of them and, as his streak of bad luck continued, Neji looked up to see Matsuri wave down at them.

"How did you get up there?" Neji asked aloud, not expecting an answer and inwardly wondering if this girl was part squirrel. "Don't move! I'll get you down!"

"Wait, what if he gets stuck?" Inari asked out of the blue.

"Who?" Moegi questioned, confused as she watched Neji ascend up the tree.

"Santa, of course! If he _was _to get stuck in our chimney, how is he going to reach his cellphone to call for help?" Inari elaborated, and Moegi just sighed.

"Oh jeez..." Neji sweatdropped as another branch broke beneath his foot, somehow climbing trees wasn't as easy as he remembered back when he was a kid and he was slowly developing a sense of acrophobia at the moment, which wasn't helping. Looking up to where Matsuri sat, Neji cocked an eyebrow in confusion as he saw nothing. "Where did she--?"

"Uh...Neji?" Moegi called up softly and pointed to her side to where Matsuri now stood, waving up to him from next to her siblings, safe on the ground.

"How did sh--" The bad luck continues. Another branch snapped under his weight, which left nothing for the adult to stand on, which means, in a split second, Neji went from up in the air to flat on his back on the ground.

"Neji!" Moegi ran to the adult worriedly. "Are you okay?"

The only response she got was a groan.

"Give it here already, Konohamaru!" Udon shouted chasing his sibling through the forest.

"No way!" Konohamaru ran away from Udon, axe in hand, and absent-mindly stepped on the fallen Hyuuga, who now had about as much recognition as a doormat, and was followed by Udon then Tenten.

"Guys, I think he's dead..." Inari stated, wide-eyed.

---

**Har har. I had a hard time decided on who the kids should be but I mangaged somehow, I even got to use on of my favourite filler characters! whoot! Please R&R :)**


	5. The Breakdown

"Why are we stopping?" Moegi questioned Tenten's motive as their rundown, once white, van pulled to a jerky stop in an alleyway that could easily be mistaken for an overloaded, misplaced junkyard.

"Just hold on a second." Tenten said getting out of the van, while everyone else looked at each other in wonder as she pulled out and old beach chair from a pile of recent-looking garbage and placed it on top of the van, securing it before climbing back in the van. Getting a confused looked from Neji, or maybe it was the pain, she returned it with one that simply said '_trust me_.'

---

Back at home, the kids stared wide-eyed at what was before them, dumbstruck. They had been forced out of their living room for nearly an hour so Tenten could secretly do whatever _this _was, a part of them made them wish she had kept it a secret.

"Okay, Neji, plug it in." Tenten ordered quietly and her boyfriend gave her a look of disbelief but listened nonetheless. Entering the plug into the socket he immediately drew back his hand as a sharp tingle ran up his arm and 'it' lit up.

"Well, what do you guys think?" Tenten asked with false enthusiasm and hope in her voice.

"It looks like lit up garbage." Inari said bluntly, staring at the old beach chair in their home prettified with their Christmas lights and ornaments in an attempt to replace the traditional tree.

Tenten sighed, knowing it was hopeless. "Listen, guys, I know it's not what we all exactly had expected but at least it's something. Besides..." Tenten trailed off as she squinted her eyes. "If you squint it looks kinda nice."

Everyone in the room looked at Tenten before following her lead, squinting until the tree was a blur. And a very unappealing blur at that.

Now the next thing on the list for 'the best Christmas ever' was Tenten's idea for traditional Christmas caroling, but considering the fact neither she nor Neji was the musical type, that meant they had to call in for some help, help that never really struck them as the type who enjoyed small children but they were in a tight spot and they were left without a choice.

"A song sheet for you." Tenten smiled as she handed a paper to Moegi, who half-smiled back as she took the paper, then frowned.

"Um...Tenten? Who are your friends?" Moegi whispered, which was pointless because the were alone in the kitchen at the moment, everyone else was in the living room.

"You mean Sasuke and Sakura?" Tenten said in normal tones, and Moegi nodded. "They're just friends of ours who happen to be in a band, which is good because me and Neji know next to nothing about music. Why?"

"They scare me." Moegi admitted quietly and Tenten couldn't help but laugh. True, Sasuke and Sakura were in a band and they _definitely _dressed the part so it was only natural they would scare little kids with their appearance.

"Don't worry, they're practically harmless." Tenten grinned. "_You're _scared of them and _they're _scared of me and Neji, so they won't do anything to you, that's why we aren't going to be singing at the Christmas parade like Sakura suggested."

_Even though I really did want too..._Tenten thought dully, then winked at Moegi as she lead the girl into the next room, where everyone else was practicing.

"One the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..." Sasuke's gaze, as well as everyone else's, traveled to Matsuri.

"Hmm, hm, hm, hmm, hm." She hummed, not opening her mouth even slightly.

"Seven swans a swimming," Sasuke corrected, even strumming the notes on his guitar to help her.

"Hmm, hm, hm, hmm, hm."

"_Se-ven_."

"_Hmm_."

Sasuke looked at Tenten and Sakura for help, receiving a shrug from each of them, sighed and continued the song, figuring that the kid was just plain stupid.

---

"I am _not _going around town singing Christmas carols," Ranmaru refused, tossing his basketball at the metal hoop mounted in their backyard. It missed and bounced back to Neji's feet.

"Okay then," Neji picked up the ball and looked at Ranmaru. "If I make it from right here, then you come with us. Is it a deal?"

"From thirty feet out?" Ranmaru thought for a moment then nodded. "Fine. Shoot."

And shoot he did, and the ball _did _go the right distance but...

"Well, you hit our palm tree," Ranmaru said in bored tones, turning to leave. "Looks like I get to stay here. Sing pretty."

"Now wait just a second." Neji said before Ranmaru could leave, and reluctantly the teen turned back around. "Listen, do you really think I want to go around singing Christmas carols? Frankly, I'd rather go skydiving in a volcano."

"Then why are you?" Ranmaru asked, mildly interested.

"I'm doing it because I made a promise, not only to your sister but to Tenten as well," Neji explained and Ranmaru turned away again. "I don't care if you hate me, my girlfriend, life or all of that but I know for a _fact _that you don't hate Moegi, and if you cared about her, you would help us fulfill her wish." With that said, Neji left, leaving Ranmaru alone to look at the basket in thought.

---

"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a partridge in a peach tree. On the-"

_Slam_!

"Well, that makes five houses in a row..." Inari stated gloomily as they left the porch of said house in low spirits.

"How come no one wants to find out what happens after the first day of Christmas?" Moegi asked sadly, looking up at Tenten, who gave her a small smile and, from the curbside (because they needed some entertainment), Sasuke and Sakura laughed.

"You guys do realize there is a better way to do this little caroling thing, right?" Sasuke asked with a smirk. "In case you've forgotten, you happen to half a band in front of you and with nothing more than a phone call it could very well become whole."

"What, so you guys are going to like harmonize or something?" Tenten wondered.

"Oh, we can do better than that." Sakura grinned as she flipped open her phone.

In less than a half hour, and as a result from Sakura's simple phone call, the middle of the street in Moegi's neighbourhood had been completely transformed into a makeshift concert. A white van, decorated in green and red lights, served as the stage on which both Sasuke and Sakura stood, instruments in hand (several other unnamed person stood around the van either a part of the band or a onlooker) playing a traditional Christmas song, amplified by the multiple gadgets that the van carried to make sure _everyone _heard the 'caroling' that was about to take place.

"_On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me_..." Sasuke and Sakura sang in chorus, each with a microphone and guitar in hand.

"Twelve drummers drumming!" Tenten finished with a microphone in hand and from inside the van, well sort of, she was half-hanging out of the window on the driver's side when she passed the microphone down the line of original carolers.

"Eleven pipers piping." Neji continued, and kept the microphone going down the line.

"Ten lords a-leaping!" Konohamaru sang

"Nine ladies dancing!" Udon cheered.

"Eight maids a-milking," Inari went on.

"Hmm, hm, hm, hmm, hm!" Matsuri hummed.

"Six geese a-laying." Moegi sang, and then looked at Ranmaru, sitting on the sidewalk away from the 'concert' with glassy eyes. The beat, meanwhile, continued without lyrics as everyone looked at each other then Moegi ran over to her brother and handed him the microphone. Ranmaru frowned and shook his head.

"Ran-mar-u! Ran-mar-u!" Konohamaru chanted steadily, soon joined by Moegi, his other siblings, Neji and Tenten, and even Sasuke and Sakura. All eyes on him, Ranmaru looked at Moegi again, and smiled.

"Five gold-en rings!" Ranmaru droned and his siblings cheered as he jumped up, picked up Moegi and continued singing with the others.

"Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a- a partridge in a pear tree!" The group finished in laughs and applause from the gathering neighbours.

"That was _awesome_!" Konohamaru exclaimed in excitement.

"And that is why we should sing that song..." Tenten looked at Neji, who immediately knew what was coming. "At the Christmas parade!"

"Yeah!" The kids cheered.

"Tenten..." Neji narrowed his eyes at said brunette, who put on her best pouty face.

"Aw, please?" Tenten begged, even though she knew how her boyfriend felt about this particular event but figured that, if it was for the kids, he would have to do it. There was a silence and Neji sighed.

"Fine. We'll do it." Neji muttered and the kids, and Tenten, cheered in victory. This cheering, however, was soon cut short as police sirens screeched through the air and, sure enough, a single police car drove up to the van. Tenten looked at Neji, both thinking the same thing and, to their dislike, Gai got out of the car and grinned at the two adults as the neighbours broke into murmurs. In short, let us just say that that night yet another number of, unruly, tickets were added to the couple's troubles making them less-than-happy camper when they returned to Tenten's house that night.

"Well, there four more tickets to add to our ever growing pile of failure. Thanks, Officer Gai." Tenten grated, throwing the pile of papers on her bed and falling back onto her pillows. "Neji, why does Gai hate us so much?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out right now," the Hyuuga answered from Tenten's computer (she had wondered what he was doing over there).

"Well, what have you found out so far?" Tenten asked, sitting back up and walking up behind Neji, resting her chin on his shoulders.

"To tell you the truth, not much." He admitted, clicking the mouse. "But I think I did find the address of a friend of his."

"A friend?" Tenten cocked an eyebrow in question, looking at the PC and reading the name that was highlighted. "Hatake Kakashi? Who's that?"

"No clue. But according to this he and Gai were once teachers at the same school, chance are he'll know something."

"So, we're going to go meet this guy?" Tenten assumed and Neji nodded.

Whoever this Kakashi was, he didn't live too far away, only about fifteen minutes away from Tenten's house. Luckily, when they arrived the address and rang the doorbell, they got exactly the person they were looking for and were invited inside where they preceded to reveal their problems to this lazy-eyed stranger.

"So you see all me and my boyfriend what to do is give these kids a worthy Christmas but Gai, your friend, seems to hate us," Tenten finished explaining to the middle-aged man before her, who merely shook his head.

"Don't worry, I can assure you that Gai doesn't hate you two per se." When he earned two confused looks, Kakashi decided to explain. "He hates Christmas. You see, a couple years back, he and I were teachers over at the city's high school. Both of us taught the same subject and were equally good teachers but for some reason, every year the students would shower me with more gifts than him. You could say it ticked him off that I could get students to like me without even trying while he put in so much effort so eventually he just stopped caring, became bitter and went off to be an officer." Kakashi finished boredly.

"Wow..." Tenten didn't know what else to say.

"That is the weirdest story I've ever heard..." Neji said, not sure if he really believed it or not.

"But the fact is that it's true and the reason Gai is on our case twenty-four seven," Tenten said looking at Kakashi for confirmation.

"So, in short, you guys are screwed it seems." Kakashi shrugged. "After all, it's not like you're ever going to find a person whose just as abnormal and fashioned-challenged as Gai is--what are you two grinning at?" Kakashi cut off as the couple smirked, looking at each other.

"Oh, we _know _someone." Tenten said, mischievously. "A very _perfect _somebody."

---

"Come on!" Moegi exclaimed, pulling Ranmaru's hand through the crowds on people getting prepared for the parade. "Come see the float we get to ride on!"

"Hey that's pretty impressive." Tenten stated as she moved her hand across the float, decorated to look like a North Pole, it even had Santa and reindeer next to a cardboard gingerbread house and the whole thing was covered in white foam. "This almost looks like real snow."

Moegi's eyes twinkled with hope. "_Real _snow?"

"Oh please don't get her stared!" Inari begged.

"What do you mean?" Neji asked.

"Everytime, and I mean it, _everytime _Moegi sees so sort of movie or picture with snow in it she goes on and on: 'why can't we have snow? I want snow! Snow, snow, snow snow!'" Inari mocked, raising his voice to high-pitch.

"Dude, cut it out." Ranmaru warned.

"Like you've never want to build a snowman?" Konohamaru glared at him.

Out of nowhere, a sudden screech of brakes alerted the group to the few people who screamed as a lone, silver car skidded down the street, stopping almost parallel to the line of floats. The driverside door opened and Neji and Tenten forced themselves not to groan as Lee stepped out of the car, oddly enough in his work clothes.

"Excuse me sir," an officer immediately walked up to Lee. "You can't park here. I'm going to have to ask you to--"

"Put the lime in the coconut!" Lee shouted, making the officer back away slowly.

"What's wrong with that man?" Moegi asked, puzzled.

"Nobody knows..." Neji and Tenten sighed.

"_Psst_!" Heard only by Lee, the theater employee looked around before spotting Gai behind one of the floats, motioning for him to walk to him.

"You are a friend of Neji and Tenten." Gai said pointing to Lee who nodded.

"I know," the employee said.

"And, I know you do not want to see them go to jail, right?" Gai asked.

"Of course not!" Lee exclaimed astonished at the thought.

"Then I need you to go over there and reminded them, _loudly_, that they need to give those kids the best Christmas ever! Got it?" Gai ordered and Lee nodded in agreement, walking over to the float as Gai watched him with a smirk.

"Hey guys!" Lee greeted louder than necessary as he climbed aboard the float, greeted a little less enthusiastically by his friends and the children. "Well, I just stopped by to tell you guys that you need to give these kids the best Christmas ever if you want to--"

"Lee!" Tenten tried to cut the crazy theater employee off before it was too late, but it was.

"--Stay out of jail!" Lee finished, noticing how the children looked up from the float's decorations to stare puzzled, and hurt, at Neji and Tenten. "Oh-hh..." Realization hit Lee. "They do not know about--I see!" Turning to the kids, Lee continued, "you see this judge lady told Neji and Tenten that, in order to stay out of jail, they need to give you guys the best Christmas ever!"

A silence hit the float. The children each exchanged looks of realization before turning to the two people, dumbstruck with shock, they now realized weren't their friends for the reason that they had thought.

"Later!" Lee waved shortly before returning to his car. After watching their friend sped away, Tenten tried to explain what had just happened.

"Guys listen--"

"Is that why you guys are being nice to us?" Moegi asked, sadly. "As some sort of punishment?"

"No, I mean..." Tenten looked at Neji for help.

"You've heard of community service, right?" Neji attempted.

Ranmaru shook his head grimly. "See? I told you guys they didn't care about us. Let's get out of here."

With that said, the kids began leaving the float one-by-one, neither of them giving even a passing glance to the couple, now at a loss for words. Once on the ground, the children began to walk away without a sound.

"Guys, wait, can't we talk about this?" Tenten asked with no real hope. "Moegi..."

The young girl didn't turn around and, instead, clutched onto Ranmaru's arm. Yet, even though they couldn't see her face, somehow the couple knew the girl was crying. Left alone on the float, they looked at each other.

"...So that's it..." Tenten laughed shortly. "We're finished. There's no way Moegi's family's going to say this was their 'best Christmas'..."

"I know..." Neji sighed, realizing that by this time tomorrow both of them would be behind bars (for him a second time in less than two weeks) with little to no chance of escape.

Tenten looked at him angrily. "How can you be so calm? If anything, this is all _your _fault! If you had never made that stupid promise to Moegi, we wouldn't be in this situation!" Tenten snapped.

"And yet you went along with it just fine, until now." Neji reminded, albeit calmer than his girlfriend, which only ticked her off more. "You wouldn't be stuck in this situation if you hadn't tried to break me out of jail; it's your own fault."

"Well if you had shown a little more enthusiasm towards this, we might have had a chance. At least I actually _wanted _to keep this promise." Tenten added sourly and, before anything else could be said, she jumped off the float and walked away in a white-hot silence. She left, and she didn't even know that she had been wrong about Neji wanting to keep his promise.

---

**Whoot! Another chapter is DONE! Only one more to go**


	6. The Promise

"Gai, what are you doing here?" The lone security officer at the city police station, at least for that night, asked when said bob-haired officer passed him without a glance. "It's Christmas eve. You should be at home, celebrating."

"I got word that something was left in my officer for me." Gai replied bluntly and continued walking to his office, despite security's protest that it was time to close down. Once inside, Gai growled, realizing that it must have been a joke as he scanned the room and saw nothing out of the ordinary before him.

"Hello!" A voice greeted loudly from behind the officer, making him jump five feet into the air and run behind his desk, peeking over he pulled a puzzled look.

"It is you..." The officer stared at Lee, wonder why he was here and how he managed to get inside his office by passing security. "What are you doing here?"

"You are Gai-sensei, correct?" Lee asked, ignoring the officer's question.

"Sensei?" Gai cocked a massive eyebrow in question.

"This is for you, sir!" Lee exclaimed and handed over a white envelope, which Gai stared at for a second before taking it. Opening it, he began to read it aloud.

"'Dear Officer Gai, we heard about what happened to you back when you were a teacher but that is no reason to hate Christmas or kids for that matter. Maybe the kids back then just couldn't see your charming personality or something. Now the person you see in front of you is probably your biggest fan ever, once a student of Kakashi's but, for reasons we don't quite understand, always preferred to have you as a teacher. No matter what you may think, Lee always idolized you so just try and enjoy our Christmas present to you, signed Neji and Tenten.'" Gai finished, and then looked teary-eyed at Lee who, like a reflection, shared the same expression.

"It is all true, Gai-sensei." Lee confirmed with a nod. "I was truly devastated when you quit teaching and left. But now, thanks to my friends, I have found you once again and I can continue to idolize you!"

"Lee..." Gai sniveled as his tears fell in waterfalls.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

In a cinematic moment fit for a movie, the two oddballs shared a tearful hug like only a sensei and student could have. For the first time in what seemed like ages, Gai found himself actually warming up to the idea that this was Christmas Eve, and tomorrow things would only get better, and he had two people to thank for that. Wanting to personally thank the couple he was appointed to watch, Gai asked Lee for their whereabouts, but received a sad look in response.

"Is something wrong?" The officer asked, and Lee lowered his gaze.

"Well, you see..." Lee began unsurely. "After yesterday at the parade, it would seem that because of _our _actions Neji and Tenten are no longer speaking to one another..."

Having forgotten the little fact that was mostly his fault, Gai gasped. "Absolutely _unacceptable_!" He hollered. "Lee, you and I must find a way to undo the evils of our actions before it is too late!"

"But Gai-sensei, how are we to do that?" Lee asked. "It is highly unlikely that young Moegi's family will agree that this Christmas was their best and, therefore, there is no way to keep Neji and Tenten out of jail, right?"

"You maybe right Lee, but where there is a will, there is a way!" Gai throw a fist in the air. "I have a plan!"

---

"Is she still in there?" Ranmaru asked his siblings as he entered the kitchen where the younger members of the family were gathered around the table. He was referring to Tenten, currently in their living room taking down whatever remained of their 'tree'. She hadn't said a word to them and hardly anything to Asuma, who had tried to get the kids to talk to her but they refused though they had noticed there was something up with her, then again they didn't know how a person about to go jail was _supposed _to act.

"Yep." Konohamaru replied, shaking his head. "I just wish she would leave already."

"That makes two of us." Inari agreed bitterly and Matsuri nodded silently.

"Well, at least _one _of them got the hint." Udon stated, referring to the absent party.

The only one who had said nothing since the incident at the parade was Moegi. While she agreed with her siblings, knowing what the adults had done wasn't right; something inside her told her that they _had _truly meant to keep their promise, no matter what some judge had said. Maybe that had been how it started, but she believed they really had been doing it out of the good in their hearts. Had her and her siblings been wrong to leave them like that? After all, it was by accident they had found out it was a judge's ruling and, until then, she _had _been having a good time with the couple. However, one more thing was bothering her and that was the absence of Tenten's partner.

From the front of the house, the doorbell rang and Ranmaru left to meet their guest. Moegi looked at her siblings, still glaring into the living room and sighed before following Ranmaru. He would understand what she wanted to do. Upon reaching the front door, Moegi saw an all-too-familiar person in their doorway.

"There you are!" Hinata smiled and waved at Moegi, who waved back in confusion. "Just the person I needed to talk to."

"What are you doing here?" Moegi asked as Hinata stepped inside, passed Ranmaru.

"I need to talk to you, and your siblings." Hinata added quietly. "And don't tell Tenten I'm here, okay?"

"Why do you need to talk to us?" Ranmaru asked, folding his arms. "Because if this is about what happened yesterday, there's nothing to talk about. We already know how we're going to vote."

"Listen, I know why you guys are upset," Hinata leveled. "But if you just trust me, there's still a way for you guys to have a good Christmas. Even if my cousin and Tenten failed to make your wish come true, I still know a lot of people who want to try again. You guys deserve this."

"Even if that does happen, your friends are still going to end up in jail because they didn't do themselves." Ranmaru pointed out. "So--"

"Hinata?" Moegi cut her brother off and looked up at Hinata, who motioned for her to continue. "Why is Tenten here alone? How come your cousin's not with her? Is it because of what happened yesterday?"

Hinata looked down at her, and smile weakly. "Oh, Moegi. I'm afraid they're not together anymore, but it's not you, or your siblings, fault."

Moegi lowered her eyes sadly. "Yes it is. It is _my _fault. If I never asked them to do this, nothing bad would have happened, to _any _of us. And now Neji and Tenten hate each other because of me...Just like...Like my mom and dad..."

"Moegi..." Ranmaru looked at the girl, now crying and tried to comfort her but couldn't find a way.

"Moegi, sweetie..." Hinata drifted into thought as she knelt to the girl's side before realization hit her. "Moegi." Forcing the girl to look at her Hinata continued, "How would you like to give my cousin and Tenten a Christmas surprise of their own? One they'll be sure to remember forever?"

"B-b-but how?" Moegi managed between sobs.

"I have a plan, but I'll need everyone's help." Hinata said, furtively looking at Ranmaru, who looked at Moegi then reluctantly nodded.

---

"_Wakey, wakey_," a familiar voice was followed by an annoying poke.

"Cut it out," Neji snapped, half awake.

"Then wake up and redeem your youth!" The voice shouted, which was just as effective as any alarm clock on Christmas morning.

"What the-Lee!" Neji exclaimed opening his eyes, only to come face-to-face with said bushy browed friend of his, enough to make anyone jump with a start and land the few feet to their floor, which was exactly what happened to Neji, who glared at Lee. "What are you doing in my house? No, wait, scratch that. _What are you doing in my room_?"

"I am here to help you redeem your youth!" Lee repeated excitedly. "And Gai-sensei is here to help!"

"Yo." Said sensei greeted from the doorway.

If there was ever a time where a homicide was about to happen, _this _was _the _time.

"You seem a little confused," Gai noted the brunette's expression (which wasn't so much confusion as it was trying to mask his need to kill two certain people currently invading his personal space). "I will explain! You see after you ever-so-gracious introduced me and Lee, my star pupil told me about your current troubles with Tenten and we decided to assist to two!"

"Unfortunately, we could not find a way to do that," Lee said sadly.

"So we came up with the conclusion: 'the best way to fix a problem is to simply talk it out.'" Gai finished proudly.

"Wait, so you mean that Tenten's...?" Neji traveled off as a sudden dread washed over him.

"That is correct!" Gai flashed a thumbs up. "She is right outside this door!" And, with that said, Gai opened the door and, sure enough, Tenten walk in as second later, filling the room with an awkward silence.

"Why are you on the floor?" Tenten couldn't help but ask.

"I thought my bed would serve as a decent barrier between me and Lee." Neji said simply, standing up nonetheless, and then gestured to Lee. "Unfortunately, I was wrong."

"Obviously." Tenten scoffed, drawing another long silence and it was Lee who broke this one.

"Resolve your conflict and become youthful and happy once more!" Lee demanded frantically, eyeing the two. "Silence does nothing and it will drive me crazy!"

"_Will_?" Both Neji and Tenten said in unison, then looked at each other for a moment and sighed, realizing this was ridiculous. They _never _fought, sure, just like every other couple on the face of the planet, they always had their differences but they worked them out almost every time. Except for the one.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry." Tenten apologized, sincerely. "I didn't mean to say, well, what I did. And you're right; I _chose _to get involved in all of this so I shouldn't have blamed you for it all."

"And I'm glad you came to that conclusion yourself and I accept you apology." Neji smirked as Gai and Lee cheered when the couple hugged each other in forgiveness.

"It is so beautiful Gai-sensei! A true work of art!" Lee exclaimed.

"Agreed, Lee. Most agreed!"

"Oh Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"We get the point!" Neji and Tenten interjected sharply, already annoyed and regretting having ever introduced the two of them to each other. It was already spelling out bad news and headaches for them.

Gai cleared his throat. "Yes, well. I'm afraid we have _other _matters to speak of." Gai gestured to the door, where two more officers emerged making the couple look at each other worriedly. "I spoke to Moegi and her foster family this morning and, I'm sorry, but...I'm going to have to take you two to jail."

The couple exchanged glances before turning to the officers. Tenten, however, looked thoughtfully at the bedroom window but, before she could make a move, was grabbed by one of the officers.

"But I don't wanna go to jail..." Tenten said softly, then added under her breath, "I should have ran for the window, damnit!"

The two were then forced down the two flights of stairs to the living room but before they could reach the door...

"Merry Christmas!" A chorus of voices sung out suddenly from the living room, now decorate with a lot of Christmas stuff that Neji was pretty sure wasn't there last night, that, or he was losing his eye sight.

"What's going on?" Tenten asked, even more confused because none of that stuff was down there when she was forced upstairs less than a half hour ago.

"Christmas!" Moegi answered happily.

"I see that but, how...?" Tenten asked in shock.

"It was my idea!" Hinata claimed. "Amazing how fast a few friends can put together a surprise, huh?"

"So that's why you're all here?" Neji asked the dozen others who had come with the decorations.

"Well, Hinata called me." Sakura answered.

"Sakura called me," Sasuke shrugged.

"I kinda live here." Hanabi said.

"I heard there were cookies." Shikamaru said lazily.

"And so on and so forth." Hinata said, before anyone else could explain his or her reason for being here.

"But why didn't you guys do this to your own house?" Tenten asked Moegi, who smiled.

"Because Christmas is about giving to _others_." She answered, then laughed. "Plus, no one knows where our house is."

"Hey, but look at our tree!" Konohamaru pointed. "We cut it down ourselves!"

"And made our own ornaments!" Udon added.

"And we even baked cookies!" Inari cheered.

"Listen you guys..." Ranmaru began looking at Neji and Tenten. "Most of the Christmas stuff you guys trying to do for us, well, it sucked." He said bluntly. "But, even so, you guys did teach us a few good things, so it wasn't a _complete _failure."

"Wait, so do Neji and Tenten have to go to jail, or what?" Sasuke asked and everyone looked at Gai, who shrugged.

"The choice isn't up to me," he said. "According to the judge's order's Moegi and her family have to decide." Everyone's gazes shifted to the foster family. "So, yes or no? Is this the best Christmas you've ever had?"

There was a long silence during which Moegi looked at Ranmaru, who looked at Matsuri, who looked at Konohamaru, who looked at Udon, who looked at Inari.

"...Yes!" Inari exclaimed.

"Yes!" Udon nodded.

"Yes!" Konohamaru laughed.

"...Yes." Ranmaru smirked.

"Yes!" Moegi smiled.

Eyes turned to Matsuri, who looked deep in thought. Tenten looked at Neji, who shrugged.

"Come on..." Moegi coached and Matsuri grinned.

"Yes!" She said and the room cheered.

"Say something else!" Moegi told Matsuri, whose lips moved in silence for a moment.

"...Merry...Christmal?" Matsuri said unsurely.

"Close enough." Tenten laughed.

"Let's sing it!" Hinata cheered. "We wish you a merry Christmal!"

"We wish you a merry Christmal! We wish you a merry Christmal! And a happy New--"

"What is that?" Lee cut in, pointing to the chimney, where large puffs of soot and such were coming out and bricks moved slightly. Everyone stared at the bricks, puzzled (even hypnotized).

"It's Santa!" Moegi breathed, excited.

"And he's stuck, like I said." Inari gloated. "Told you a man that big 'ought not be goin' down chimneys!"

"Okay! That's it!" The voice in the chimney shouted and a second later, a gloved fist punched through the bricks and fell to the floor at a familiar figure's feet. In case you were wondering, no, there is no insurance on this particular chimney.

"Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, and all that stuff!" The Santa shouted happily, setting eyes on Neji he smiled and waved. "Hey!"

"Long time no see." Neji greeted.

"...Neji, who is _that_?" Tenten asked, both scared and confused.

"Aw, forgot me already?" The Santa asked astonished. "I helped you break your boyfriend out of jail just two weeks ago."

"Everyone, this is my friend...and former cellmate, Naruto." Neji introduced, trying not to make it sound as weird as it did and everyone waved awkwardly to the new arrival.

"Oh yeah! Before I forget," Naruto reached back into the chimney's remains and pulled out a large green sack. "I got a little something for you kids." Opening the bag he handed each of the kids several presents.

"Um, excuse me Santa?" Hinata asked, walking up to Naruto.

"Yes?" Naruto eyed her curiously.

"I've also got a little present for you."

"Really?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

"Me!" Hinata exclaimed, hugging the blond who immediately returned the hug as the room broke into murmurs. The worst was over now and for the first time in two weeks Neji and Tenten felt that they could fully relax at last. Watching their friends, and Gai and Lee, make conversation among each other from the corner of the living room, the couple stood in silence for a moment before Neji broke it with a question.

"So, yes or no?" He asked looking at Tenten, who looked back confused. "Is this the best Christmas _you've _ever had?"

Tenten thought for a moment before smiling. "It will be..." She began, moving closer to her boyfriend. "After _this_."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Tenten kissed Neji in a way that put all others to shame, separating only when air was need only to find out that they were being watched by nearly everyone in the room. Moegi and kids pulled disgusted faces as they stuck out their tongues.

"Eww!"

---

**And that is the end! It took long enough but it was worth it! I finally got around to typing this story which means IT'S DONE FOREVER!! har har. Please R&R.**


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